Monitoring Important Bird Areas in Kenya A draft Site Action Plan for Mukurwe-ini Valleys, Kenya September 2005 Editors Martin Mwema, Simon Musila, Enock Kanyanya, John Musina, Ronald Mulwa, Kariuki Ndang'ang'a, Joel Siele, and Jacob Machekele Table of Contents List of Tables............................................................................................................................2 List of Acronyms......................................................................................................................3 Executive Summary.................................................................................................................4 Table of Contents.....................................................................................................................1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................5 Site Background Information.................................................................................................6 Location .................................................................................................................................6 Land Tenure/Ownership ........................................................................................................6 Present Land use....................................................................................................................6 Climate...................................................................................................................................7 Population..............................................................................................................................7 Conservation issues ...............................................................................................................7 On-going conservation work .................................................................................................7 Indigenous Knowledge...........................................................................................................7 Species Description ..................................................................................................................7 Taxonomy...............................................................................................................................7 Distribution............................................................................................................................8 Population size.......................................................................................................................8 Ecology ..................................................................................................................................8 Conservation Status...............................................................................................................9 Justification for conservation of the site..............................................................................10 Ecological Values ................................................................................................................10 Aesthetic, cultural and religious values...............................................................................10 Economic Values .................................................................................................................10 Scientific Value ....................................................................................................................10 Threats to the Site..................................................................................................................11 Direct Threats......................................................................................................................11 Indirect Threats ...................................................................................................................12 Conservation Objectives .......................................................................................................13 Species and Habitat Conservation.......................................................................................13 Research and Monitoring ....................................................................................................14 Education and Public awareness.........................................................................................15 Community Involvement ......................................................................................................16 Fundraising and Marketing.................................................................................................16 Stakeholder Roles and Analysis ...........................................................................................18 Activity Plan and Budget ......................................................................................................21 Monitoring and Implementation Plan .................................................................................26 SAP process .........................................................................................................................26 Coordination and Logistics .................................................................................................26 Review and Feedback ..........................................................................................................26 Opportunities and Risks in Implementation of the SAP.......................................................26 Phase out Plan........................................................................................................................28 References...............................................................................................................................29 Appendices..............................................................................................................................30 Appendix 1: Map..................................................................................................................30 Appendix 2: SAP Workshop Process ...................................................................................30 1 List of Tables Table 1: Table showing population estimates for Hinde’s Babbler at six sites surveyed during 1994-2001, based on Njoroge & Bennun (1996) and Shaw et al. (2003).............................................8 Table 2:Table showing the roles of various stakeholders in the Site Action Plan and their Strengths, weaknesses and opportunities..........................................................................................18 Table 3: Table showing the objectives, workplan, timing and budget of the SAP.................21 2 List of Acronyms AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome CBO Community Based Organization. DO District Officer FOO Fundamentals of Ornithology Course GOK Government of Kenya GPS Global Positioning System HB Hinde's Babbler HIV Human Immuno-deficiency Virus IBA Important Bird Area ICIPE International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology ICRAF International Centre for Research on Agro-Forestry KWS Kenya Wildlife Service LATF Local Authority Transfer Funds MEVO Mukurwe-ini Environment Volunteers MOA Ministry of Agriculture MOPW Ministry of Public Works NEMA National Environment Management Authority NGO Non- Governmental Organization NK Nature Kenya NMK National Museums of Kenya PA Protected Area SAP Site Action Plan SSG Site Support Group TOT Training of Trainers Workshops WCK Wildlife Clubs of Kenya 3 Executive Summary This Site Action Plan (SAP) identifies strategies to ensure the long-term survival of the Hinde's Babbler, Turdoides hindei, an endemic and globally threatened species in Mukurwe-ini Valleys. This site is an Important Bird Area (IBA) that is not formally protected within Kenya's Protected Area network. The land is privately owned by individuals most of whom are small- scale farmers. As a result, the area has experienced a high rate of bush thicket loss, as more land is cultivated. The Hinde's Babbler relies on these thickets for feeding, breeding and cover and its loss has had an impact on its population. Although scrub clearance is considered the most serious threat to the species’ survival, hunting and human disturbance may also have an appreciable impact. Other potential threats include: pesticide use, predation and brood parasitism. Other threats highlighted are indirect such as inadequate awareness, lack of conservation funds, poverty, an inadequate government policy and impact of HIV/AIDS. These affect the conservation of the site in one way or the other but do not impact directly on the species and its habitat. In response to these threats, Nature Kenya in collaboration with the Ornithology Department, National Museums of Kenya, organised a Site Action Plan workshop to come up with strategies to conserve the bird and its habitat. This was organized under the Important Bird Areas monitoring programme and it involved various stakeholders from the site. Broadly, the proposed conservation actions were: the creation of a reserve or a network of reserves through land purchase, encouraging farmers to maintain bush thickets in their farms through land agreements, scientific research and monitoring of the species and its habitat, education and awareness creation and community involvement. By increasing the size and quality of the habitat, it is hoped that the population of the birds will